Peter Garrett delivers valedictory speech to Parliament

Retiring Federal Labor MP Peter Garrett has delivered his valedictory speech to Parliament, after last night quitting the frontbench over Kevin Rudd's re-election as Labor leader.

Mr Garrett, who served as a Cabinet minister for six years, says he is proud of his record as Schools Minister and Environment Minister.

"I've endeavoured to do my best, both in terms of loyalty, and in terms of the disciplines that I think are very necessary in parliamentary politics," Mr Garrett said.

"We needed a national vision. We needed to set the standards of the curriculum as high as we could and reach agreement with the states through the vexed processes of COAG to make it happen.

"Now we've done it, we have the best national curriculum in the world."

Mr Garrett says it has been a privilege to be given responsibility for Australia's education.

He says he deliberately shied away from using his celebrity status to advance political causes out of respect for the public policy process.

"I won't jump up on my ministerial desk and do an air guitar, I won't come into the House and quote my song lyrics," he said.

"I won't take the opportunities that are afforded to people who have celebrity status to use that to advance either the causes of the government or the political party that I've come here as a member of."

But he used the speech to highlight concerns that many reforms made by Labor are under threat from the Queensland Government.

"There is a taint of recklessness and disregard for our environment that washes through that Queensland Government administration that frankly gives me great cause for concern," he said.

"Once I leave this place, I will be doing my utmost to make sure that those natural heritage, natural environment gains that have been hard-won by the community and then by the Parliament, are kept in place."